Atletico Madrid's hopes of retaining the La Liga title were dealt a huge blow on Sunday courtesy of a 2-0 defeat at Celta Vigo.

Nolito (penalty) and Fabian Orellana were both on the scoresheet for the home side, who dominated matters on their own patch.

The result has left Atletico in third position, seven points behind the league leaders Real Madrid.

Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two Spanish rivals.

Match statistics

CELTA
Shots: 14
On target: 3
Possession: 67%
Corners: 9
Fouls: 3

ATLETICO
Shots: 9
On target: 4
Possession: 33%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 12

Was the result fair?

There is absolutely no question that Celta deserved to win this match. They were better than Atletico in every single area and the only surprise was that they did not win by more than two goals. Atletico boss Diego Simeone will argue, however, that the match turned just before the hour when Nolito scored from the penalty spot. The award of the spot kick was fairly straightforward, but Atletico should have been given a free kick in the build-up following a clear handball from Augusto Fernandez. That said, there is little doubting that the hosts deserved to claim all the points in fairly routine fashion.

Atletico had the game's only attempt on target in the first period, but there is little doubting that Celta, who had 77% of the ball in the first 45 minutes, were the team on the front foot. The away side did launch a response after falling 1-0 behind, but an excellent second Celta goal made sure of all the points. Simeone will feel that his team deserved at least a goal to show for their efforts and while that is a fair argument, Atletico did not deserve anything other than a defeat. If an outsider had watched these two teams for the first time, Celta would have undoubtedly looked like the defending champions of Spain.

Celta's performance

It is hard to understand why Celta went on a six-game losing run earlier this season. They won at Barcelona earlier this term, in addition to drawing with Atletico at the Vicente Calderon, but they have had some really poor results. When it doesn't work, they struggle, but when it all comes together, Eduardo Berizzo's side are a match for any team in the league. Without going over old ground, Celta were simply excellent. Nolito and Orellana will receive the plaudits for their goals, but the likes of Michael Krohn-Dehli and Fernandez also had excellent matches for the hosts in the middle of the park.

Defensively, Celta were also impressive, with Andreu Fontas and Gustavo Cabral strong at the heart of the defence. As mentioned, the home side did not have a shot on target in the first period, but they absolutely dominated matters. Atletico did improve in the second half, but never really offered the impression that they were capable of turning it around. They might have had a slice of luck in the build-up to their first goal, but their play deserved to bring a reward. They did not beat Atletico by sitting back and defending - far from it. Berizzo's side utterly outplayed the Spanish champions in all areas of the field and but for some poor finishing and fine goalkeeping from Miguel Moya, three or four goals could easily have arrived.

Atletico's performance

Atletico have been one of the stories of the last couple of years, but they were really, really poor in this one. Granted, Simeone was without Arda Turan, Koke and Raul Garcia - three players that would surely have made the XI - but the Argentine still had a wealth of talent at his disposal. In truth, not too much blame can be placed on the defence due to the pressure that occurred, but the away side's midfield and forward three were really disappointing. Simeone made a first-half change - bringing Mario Suarez into the match in place of Tiago - but it made little difference in relation to the flow of pressure.

Fernando Torres was given a start, but the Spaniard looked short of his best and it came as no real surprise when he was withdrawn at the interval. The change, which saw Cani introduced, allowed Antoine Griezmann to move into a more central area and the Frenchman started to influence proceedings. It was not enough for the visitors, however, who put in one of their poorest performances for some time. As discussed, the likes of Diego Godin and Miranda did their best to repel the pressure, but the defence had such limited protection that it became an uphill task. Atletico have now lost four times away from home this season and as it stands, trail the league leaders Real Madrid by seven points after 23 games.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Fabian Orellana: Nolito is extremely unfortunate not to gain this accolade following his super performance, but Orellana was simply excellent. The Chilean scored Celta's second with a sweeping finish and would have had another late on but for a smart save from Moya. In truth, Atletico just could not live with the pace and movement of the wide midfielder, who left to a rousing ovation late on.

Biggest gaffe

Atletico argued that they should have had a free kick in the build-up to Celta's first and they had a strong point. As discussed above, Augusto clearly handled in the middle of the park, but the referee allowed the match to continue and moments later, awarded Celta a penalty. Simeone made his feelings on the matter pretty well known at the time.

Referee performance

Referee Juan Martinez can expect some stern words from Simeone in relation to the handball, but the actual award of the penalty was fairly straightforward. It was not an unbelievably obvious spot kick, but Suarez lazily put a leg towards Nolito, who had escaped the challenge inside the box. Atletico felt that they should have had a penalty of their own late on when Guilherme Siqueira went down inside the box, but Martinez was not interested and allowed the play to continue.

In relation to cards, however, the official had a fairly routine night. He issued just four bookings - all of which came to Atletico, who will have some misgivings over Martinez's performance. The referee did allow the match to flow in the correct areas, however, which contributed to what was an entertaining affair. Overall, some bits good, some bits bad for Martinez.

What next?

Celta: Celta return to league action away to Deportivo La Coruna next Saturday.

Atletico: The Spanish champions, meanwhile, host Almeria in the league next Saturday.